OLIVE RIDLEY SEA TURTLES NESTING IN JUNE

June 6, 2004, Jim Tolbert, San Jose del Cabo, Baja, Mexico Sea Turtle Precautions:

¿Que tal in la Playa?

Fishing continues to pick up with warming of the waters…the local panga fleet saw a lot of action with marlin and a scattering of dorado being taken mostly from Punta Gorda on up the East Cape. Sierra, roosterfish, jacks, and grouper also added to the mix.

Turtle time…June is the beginning of the nesting season for Olive Ridley turtles Lepidochelys olivacea or golfinas along the beaches of Los Cabos. We spotted our first nest this week just past the La Playa lighthouse. This is a good time to remind everyone to keep your vehicles off the beaches that also means ATV’s. Driving on the beach is against the law…even though the locals do it, you should not. Sea turtles are an endangered species and every effort must be made to protect their habitat. These creatures have a rough time just getting past the gill nest and long liners that are also decimating our fish population. To give an idea of how bad the turtle situation is today, the recently concluded reenactment of the 1940 John Steinbeck and Ed Ricketts’ expedition to the Sea of Cortez yielded not one spotting of a sea turtle…not even one in the Sea of Cortez during the duration of this recent month long voyage! Give them a break on shore!

(See "Mexico Fishing News" online for current fishing reports, photos, weather, and water temperatures from San Jose del Cabo and other major Mexican sportfishing areas. Vacation travel articles, fishing maps and seasonal calendars, and fishing related information for San Jose del Cabo may be found at Mexfish.com's main San Jose del Cabo page.